Promoting Energy-Efficient Motors in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey

Promoting Energy-Efficient Motors in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey

What is the project about?

The project aims to promote significant additional investment in industrial energy efficiency in Turkey by transforming the market for energy efficient motors used in small and medium sized enterprises. This objective will be achieved by strengthening the legislative and regulatory framework related to both new and existing EE motors in Turkey, developing appropriate governance and information infrastructure, upgrading test laboratories at the Turkish Standards Institute (TSI), launching a sustainable financial support mechanism (FSM) and by developing and implementing a comprehensive public awareness and training programme.

What has been the situation?

In Turkey 30-35% of total electricity consumption is represented by industry. It is estimated that 70% of energy consumption in industry is by electric motor-driven systems 90% of which use 3-phase squirrel cage asynchronous motors. Motors in Turkey are highly energy intensive, it is estimated that an average electric motor in Turkey consumes an amount of energy equal to its purchase cost in about 45-60 days (running for 8 hours in a single shift). A typical electric motor causes an energy cost of more than 50 times its purchase cost during its 20 years of service life. This means that energy-efficiency plays an extremely important role in the decision on which motor to purchase.

800,000 to 1,000,000 new motors are placed on the market every year (power range 0.75 kW – 375 kW). The Turkish Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology (MoSIT) Directorate General for Productivity estimates that on average 1,000,000 electric motors are produced domestically every year, a small amount, 10-15% of which meet IE3 standard, whilst 500,000 units are imported. The main manufacturers in Turkey are Gamak, Wat Motor, Volt Motor, Abana, Eldaş. It is estimated that 85% or up to 12-18 million electric motors operated in Turkish industry are below IE2 (with variable speed drive) or IE3 level of energy efficiency as of 2012.

Whilst many industrial actors operating in Turkey are aware of the cost saving benefits of energy efficiency, they have limited access to information on the benefits of replacing non-efficient electric motors. Consequently, purchasing decisions often favor lower cost, less efficient electric motor, instead of more efficient ones that may cost on average 20% more and have a payback on investment between 1-3 years depending on technology and efficiency levels.

What is our mission?

The proposed project aims to achieve a market transformation through accelerated application of new EE motors and replacement of existing electric motor stock. The project will develop and strengthen a One Stop Shop EE Electric Motors financial support mechanism to support the government to target and convert 40% of the over 15 million motors that are currently IE0 and IE1 efficiency and achieving a conversion of approximately 7.5 – 9.5 million motors to IE2 (with variable speed drive installed), IE3 and IE4 standards.

How are we doing this?

The project will achieve this market transformation by developing and implementing the following interrelated activities: 1) Strengthening policy and institutional frameworks and helping to elaborate the smooth implementation of policy; 2) support to domestic motor manufacturing capacity and increasing market transparency; 3) ensuring effective enforcement through introducing proactive market surveillance, compliance, and strengthening testing procedures; 4) providing tailored financial solutions to end users and motor manufacturers to incentivize manufacture and utilization of EE motors; 5) raising awareness of the benefits of EE motors technologies and their application for Turkish industry. Through the One Stop Shop Financial Support Mechanism, the project aims to directly catalyze at least an additional $20 million USD in investment in EE motors before the end of the project (i.e – during the project lifetime) and once the project is over and the financial mechanism continues to operate the amount of investment leveraged will be much higher.

How will Turkey benefit?

Turkey will undergo a market transformation through the application of new energy efficient motors and replacement of existing old and inefficient electric motor stocks. 40% of inefficient motors will be replaced by efficient motors. National policy and institutional framework will be improved, capacities of domestic motor manufacturers will be increased, proactive market surveillance and compliance will be ensured and tailored financial solutions will be introduced. Moreover the project will constitute an important part for Turkey reaching its targets set by the Energy Efficiency Law and Energy Strategy Plan and the 10th National Development Plan which are a 20% reduction in primary energy intensity by 2023 (compared to 2008 levels) and increasing energy efficiency in industry respectively.